Chancellor Says She Regrets Remarks About a Harlem Charter School

By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ

March 7, 2014

The New York City schools chancellor, facing criticism for denying public classroom space to a Harlem charter school, said on Friday that she would work to find space for about 200 children affected by the decision.

The chancellor, Carmen Fariña, said she had misspoken when she suggested that the Harlem school, operated by a nonprofit network known as Success Academy Charter Schools, would have to find its own space for students.

“We might be able to accommodate the Success Academy,” she said during an appearance on “Good Day New York” on Fox 5.

It was a strikingly different tone for the schools chancellor, who had told reporters on Wednesday: “They’re charter schools. They’re on their own now.”

Ms. Fariña said on Friday that she regretted those remarks.

“Did I mean it?” she said. “No. I’ve been in this public school system 50 years, and anyone who knows me knows that I always put children first, and all these kids are ours.”

The Education Department announced last week that it would cancel plans for three Success Academy schools, prompting a spirited backlash from charter school advocates, who rallied on Tuesday in Albany and earned Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s support. Some accused Mayor Bill de Blasio of harboring personal animus toward Eva S. Moskowitz, the leader of the schools, with whom the mayor has repeatedly clashed.

On Friday, Ms. Fariña vigorously denied that suggestion, saying that the city had used objective criteria to assign classroom space. “I have nothing against charter schools,” she said. “If anything, I want to encourage them.”

But when asked if she wanted to see the number of charter schools grow in New York City, Ms. Fariña said only that she would review each case individually.

Two of the canceled Success Academy schools were new and had not enrolled any students. The third, Success Academy Harlem 4, is an existing school that was planning to add a seventh grade in the next school year and an eighth grade in 2015. The Education Department said its expansion was canceled because it would have displaced programs for special education students.

“We are heartened to hear that the chancellor has heard the pleas of families who desperately want this high-performing school to continue,” said Kerri Lyon, a spokeswoman for the Success network.

However, the chancellor did not say whether she would find space for the school to expand, or if she would merely help find different schools for the 194 students at Success Academy Harlem 4 who will have no school this fall.

Ms. Fariña, 70, who has endured snowstorms, budget negotiations and debates over prekindergarten in just two months as chancellor, said she did not regret coming out of retirement.

But she acknowledged that her 14-hour workdays had left her with little time for her husband and grandchildren.